NovAliX and Servier Collaborate in Early Discovery Research Program

Strasbourg, France, October 9, 2012 / B3C newswire / -NovAliX today announces that it has entered into drug discovery collaboration with the pharmaceutical company Servier.

Under the terms of this agreement Graffinity, a NovAliX subsidiary, will be responsible for the discovery of specific small molecule lead candidates for a novel exploratory target chosen by Servier. NovAliX will identify hits using its Graffinity fragment-based screening technology that combines chemical micro-arrays with a proprietary SPR-imaging method for the detection of compound protein interactions. NovAliX will receive technology access fees and research funding from Servier.

"We look forward to utilizing NovAliX’s strong capabilities in biophysics and lead generation methodologies for this novel discovery program" said Bernard Marchand, PhD, Head of Servier Discovery Research.

Stephan Jenn, President of NovAliX, said "This drug discovery collaboration with a leading global pharmaceutical confirms the quality of our technologies and science, and underlines the value of our platform as an important tool to deliver valuable lead candidates."

About ServierServier is a privately-run French research-based pharmaceutical company with a 2011 turnover of € 3.9 billion. Servier invests 25% of its turn over in R&D. Current therapeutic domains for Servier are cardiovascular,metabolic,neurological,psychiatric and bone and joint diseases as well as oncology. Servier is established in 140 countries worldwide with over 20.000 employees.